Ninja Turtles CGI Movie

[Ben]

I member Mad Mag's title for the Turtles II spoof was "The Secret Is To Snooze"!

And Corey Feldman as Don? <I>Everybody</I> knew that at the time!

[ShyViolet]

Oh yeah, I saw that MAD spoof in one of those Mad collection books!

Also, yeah, I guess I do remember hearing about Corey....but WAY after that time. He does sound like him, now that I think about it.

The director of this movie has specifically stated he wants to look for a better balance between action and humor, and that this film should be darker than the first one.

Wow! Shows how times have changed....back then there was a quite a lot of talk about how the Turtles movie was too dark, with all the violent martial arts, and talk of how Shredder cut off part of Splinter's ear years ago....It was PG-13 if I'm not mistaken. That's probably why Ooze had a lot more jokes and that light-hearted tone.

[Dacey]

No, Vi, all of the "Turtles" films are PGs.

[ShyViolet]

Yeah, but critics still complained that the first one was too violent and the storyline too dark.


If I recall correctly (haven't seen this film in ages) there's a scene where Raphael goes out at night by himself and gets jumped by a bunch of muggers. (It's quite violent, and he doesn't win) That's just one scene in this film.


Like I said, the tone in Ooze was quite different. I still liked it, though.

[Meg]

It would be interesting if the new one was rated PG-13...I'm not expecting it, but even so....

[YCougar]

It would be interesting if the new one was rated PG-13...I'm not expecting it, but even so....

I know I wouldn't mind a PG-13... after all, the comic book Turtles killed Shredder in the first issue of the series. The source material is pretty dark at times. If you wanted, you could pull off an R without reaching too much. I don't want it that extreme, though.

Ah yeah... Raphael getting jumped by the Foot. And healing in the bathtub. The first film really was the Raph show... the getting-beat-within-an-inch-of-his-life happened to Leonardo in the comics. At least the new 'toon got it right when they adapted that story, heh. But no real complaints here... the first movie was a great character study for Raph. I hear there's no swearing in this new flick, which is a bit of a pity. I don't swear myself (or like hearing it, really), but it just seems right for Raph to let loose a couple of the less hardcore words every now and then.

That's probably why Ooze had a lot more jokes and that light-hearted tone.

Yeah - note how the guys hardly use their weapons at all. ("Combat coldcuts!") Everyone was a little shocked by the movie before it, I guess... everyone knew about the cartoon, but comparatively few read the comics. Turtles - serious? No way!

[ShyViolet]

I don't swear myself (or like hearing it, really), but it just seems right for Raph to let loose a couple of the less hardcore words every now and then.

Yeah Raph is awesome....I know he's a Turtle (well, half-Turtle) but I stil like him.

I'm not into swearing either, (and I hate it when they do it OVER and OVER again in films) but I know what ya mean.

[ShyViolet]

Also:

I HAD to post it....

BAD video but I LOOOOOVE the song.

It's pretty tame since this is 1990 and all...one SLIGHTLY risque shot.

Also....that was Ally Sheedy as April O'Neal right??

[Ben]

I don't Sheedy was in any of the turtle movies...?

It was Judith Hoag in the first one and I don't think she did any more.

[YCougar]

Trailer now available on MTV.com. Link: http://www.mtv.com/movies/movie/284385/trailers.jhtml

My commentary:

I can't wait until some better-looking, more high-res versions come out. This video quality is pretty bad.

That said, I think this should calm some fears about the expressiveness of the Turtles. I think the facial animation looks nice. As well as the rest of the animation.

Everything looks a little too clean and CGI at times, but that's not too annoying as they never intended to be photorealistic to begin with. The voices do well, but I think Mikey sounds a bit overacted at times.

Also, the jokes are pretty lame. And that belch made me wince. But this is Mikey... sort of his personality to be lame and annoying. But I do hope they don't give him the short straw in fight sequences - Mikey tends to be underestimated too much. Either way, it's obvious they went for the humorous angle in the trailer rather than a kickawesome fight-driven one, probably to appeal to a broader audience.

Oh, and I really like the look they're going for. Dark and awesome.

[ShyViolet]

I like the look too--kinda looks half-3d/half 2-d, but that's pretty much ALL I like.

Their voices are horrible--completely wrong. All I see are the VO actors.
Much more catoony than the actual CARTOON (or at least the one I remember--I've never seen the new cartoon) Totally agree about over-acting, none of it is convincing at all.

You're spot on YCouger, the Jokes ARE lame They weren't all that great in T 1 or T2, but at least they was a sense of fun and an innocence about the plot, the characters, everything. There was also the feel of a real bond between the Turtles, as well as the Turtles and Splinter. Maybe I just haven't seen enough of the film (only a few seconds after all) but I didn't see that here. NADA. Everything they said sounded SO scripted.
The irony, one-liners and A to B plot that looks like someone wrote it in their sleep doesn't reassure me either.

Plus, yeah, Mikey might belch. But not that long or be so gross about it.
And this may sound stupid or fanboy-ish (or girl) but neither Mikey NOR ANY OF THE TURTLES WOULD BELCH IN SPLINTER'S FACE LIKE THAT !

I shudder to think of other scatalogical jokes in our "hip" modern age they might have worked in here, especially since the Turtles live in a sewer....

Color me disappointed.

[Meg]

I've been looking foword to this, but yikes! Now I don't know whether or not I want to watch the trailer! :0

[YCougar]

Much more catoony than the actual CARTOON (or at least the one I remember--I've never seen the new cartoon) Totally agree about over-acting, none of it is convincing at all.

Heh. I'll bet you haven't seen the old 'toon in a while. It was pretty dang cartoony and silly. Serious moments? Of course there were some, but if you go back and look at it you'll find it wasn't nearly as good as you remember. I came to that realization a while back - especially with the '80s animation. That's why I like the new 'toon - much better animation, more serial storyline, character development, darker... things that appeal to me at the age I am now. Still love the old show, but in a more nostalgic kinda way.

As for the new trailer, here's my guess. The film is supposed to be a mix of action and comedy, right? Dark, but with some light moments to keep the kids in the picture.

The first trailer appealed largely to the older fans, basically saying "Remember those Turtles you grew up watching? Check out how awesome and nongoofy they can be." The Mikey gag at the end was just a reminder that it wouldn't go all dark - those who like the humor of the old Turtles and want to keep some of it.

This new trailer, I believe, has been formulated to appeal to the current TMNT generation - at least, the kids who watched the new 'toon instead of the old one. They've already been exposed to pretty dark Turtles fighting serious fights... and also, they're kids. Therefore, Mikey dominates the trailer, being himself, sandwiched with clips of pretty sweet action.

But the burp take, the very Mikey-esque lame jokes (that I strongly suspect are supposed to be lame, the way the others roll their eyes at him almost every time he talks (that last joke, for example - it's funny not because the joke is funny, but because Mikey is so obviously entertained by such a lame joke).

I liked the first trailer a lot more, yes... because I actually would go for a 100% straight TMNT movie. I guess they had to do it this way because too many people would get upset, seeing the cute, poofy Turtles they saw obsessing over pizza actually kicking unrestrained butt. Heaven forbid the Turtles be taken seriously as the Vol. 1 comics did. A serious Mikey...? Blasphemy!

So while this new trailer has scaled back my expectations a bit, I actually expect the final film to rest comfortably between the moods of these two trailers. Which could still be pretty good. I think it's the tone of this trailer and not the quality that will turn most people off, especially after the teaser. The animation looks great, and while I still don't agree with a lot of character designs, I think the animation team can make them work just fine.

Voices? I don't mind 'em. Leo and Raph's voices have at least superficial similarities to those who did the first movie. Mikey and Don's are more like the ones in the new 'toon, though I will say I like the new 'toon ones better - the Donatello they have is my favorite in the entire franchise. And the fact that the Turtles recorded most of their lines in the same room together sounds promising to me.

Final verdict - I'm still extremely excited by the look of the movie. As far as how it'll play, I'll be a little more reserved, and save my judging for opening day, methinks.

[ShyViolet]

Hmmm....what you've said makes sense, YCougar. I'll have to think about it between now and the film's release....(I still don't like that Mikey joke belching though...the one before was a little better. And that was Donatello replying to him, right?)

And Meg, don't take my word for it! I can be very critical sometimes, and a bit too demanding and picky in my expectations (I don't mind admitting it. )
So go ahead and click on it, and see what you think!

[Josh]

I've been looking foword to this, but yikes! Now I don't know whether or not I want to watch the trailer! :0

You might want to wait until it's available in QuickTime.